Biggest Full Moon of 2009
01-10-2009, 04:12 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Biggest Full Moon of 2009
When last month's full Moon rose over Florida, onlooker Raquel Stanton of Cocoa Beach realized that something was up.
"The Moon was stunningly gorgeous--and it looked bigger than usual!" she says. "My whole family noticed and watched in awe."
Like millions of others around the world, she had witnessed the biggest full Moon of 2008--a "perigee Moon," 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser Moons she had seen before. "I'll never forget it."
Alert: It's about to happen again.
This Saturday night, Jan. 10th, another perigee Moon is coming. It's the biggest full Moon of 2009, almost identical to the one that impressed onlookers in Dec. 2008.
Johannes Kepler explained the phenomenon 400 years ago. The Moon's orbit around Earth is not a circle; it is an ellipse, with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. Astronomers call the point of closest approach "perigee," and that is where the Moon will be this weekend.
Perigee full Moons come along once or twice a year. 2008 ended with one and now 2009 is beginning with another. It's the best kind of déjà vu for people who love the magic of a moonlit landscape.
January is a snowy month in the northern hemisphere, and the combination of snow + perigee moonlight is simply amazing. When the Moon soars overhead at midnight, the white terrain springs to life with a reflected glow that banishes night, yet is not the same as day. You can read a newspaper, ride a bike, write a letter, and at the same time count the stars overhead. It is an otherworldly experience that really must be sampled first hand.
Another magic moment happens when the perigee Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. This weekend, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you catch yourself reaching out to touch it.
You won't be the only one. Even at perigee, the Moon is 360,000 km away, yet the distant beauty beckons to poets, stargazers and NASA with equal force: "Come back," it seems to say, "I'm really not so far away."
"The Moon was stunningly gorgeous--and it looked bigger than usual!" she says. "My whole family noticed and watched in awe."
Like millions of others around the world, she had witnessed the biggest full Moon of 2008--a "perigee Moon," 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser Moons she had seen before. "I'll never forget it."
Alert: It's about to happen again.
This Saturday night, Jan. 10th, another perigee Moon is coming. It's the biggest full Moon of 2009, almost identical to the one that impressed onlookers in Dec. 2008.
Johannes Kepler explained the phenomenon 400 years ago. The Moon's orbit around Earth is not a circle; it is an ellipse, with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. Astronomers call the point of closest approach "perigee," and that is where the Moon will be this weekend.
Perigee full Moons come along once or twice a year. 2008 ended with one and now 2009 is beginning with another. It's the best kind of déjà vu for people who love the magic of a moonlit landscape.
January is a snowy month in the northern hemisphere, and the combination of snow + perigee moonlight is simply amazing. When the Moon soars overhead at midnight, the white terrain springs to life with a reflected glow that banishes night, yet is not the same as day. You can read a newspaper, ride a bike, write a letter, and at the same time count the stars overhead. It is an otherworldly experience that really must be sampled first hand.
Another magic moment happens when the perigee Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. This weekend, why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset may seem so nearby, you catch yourself reaching out to touch it.
You won't be the only one. Even at perigee, the Moon is 360,000 km away, yet the distant beauty beckons to poets, stargazers and NASA with equal force: "Come back," it seems to say, "I'm really not so far away."
01-10-2009, 04:21 PM
#2
Registered User
That's exciting, but it has been raining here for two weeks now so I'm probably gonna miss it!
The moon's still the same size right, just closer?
Kurt
The moon's still the same size right, just closer?
Kurt
01-10-2009, 04:38 PM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
I see you've been having lots of flooding and this moon is probably going to make things worse with higher tides.
01-10-2009, 07:14 PM
#5
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Delta Jct Alaska
Posts: 277
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Its huge here...put the booties on jake last night, and went for a walk up the trail out of the wind, ended up turning headlight off. Funny getting more moon light this winter than sun.
01-10-2009, 07:44 PM
#6
It's my pot and I'll stir it if I want to. If you're not careful, I'll stir your's as well!
Watched the moon come up over the Mexican horizon tonight. Looked great! It is now sitting in a cloudless sky at about the 9:30 position. That huge silver moon still looks fantastic.
This reminds me of a time a few lifetimes ago when driving through the African bush late at night during a full moon. I turned off my headlights and drove for miles with no lights. To this day I remember the beauty of the scene. It was absolutely fantastic to park on a high area and look over miles and miles of nothing but bush illuminated by the light of the moon. This was probably at least a hundred miles from any civilization so there was no unnatural light to spoil things. It was a scene I will never ever forget. All was quiet except for the sound of the wild animals and night birds.
This reminds me of a time a few lifetimes ago when driving through the African bush late at night during a full moon. I turned off my headlights and drove for miles with no lights. To this day I remember the beauty of the scene. It was absolutely fantastic to park on a high area and look over miles and miles of nothing but bush illuminated by the light of the moon. This was probably at least a hundred miles from any civilization so there was no unnatural light to spoil things. It was a scene I will never ever forget. All was quiet except for the sound of the wild animals and night birds.
Trending Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post